Private operators fighting against the current treaty are simply looking to “earn billions” at the expense of players. Without the existing limitations there would be a significant increase in gambling addiction, they said.

At least one lawyer, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Haltern from the University of Freiburg, cited the “historically grown, religiously primed and morally-culturally established” basis of the current German lotto regulation as a reason to leave the status quo intact.

“Simply Ridiculous”

Others, however, are not so sanguine. An industry insider told Lotnext it was “simply ridiculous” to claim that the current incarnation of the German State Treaty on Gambling had been a success, citing not only the fact that the allocation of sports betting licenses had failed miserably, but also adding that an estimated 80% of all gambling in Germany now occurs through illegal channels – and thus without government oversight, tax revenue, support of good causes, player protection, or even safeguards against criminal infiltration.

UK Lottery Operator Camelot Aims for Bigger Jackpots, but Longer Odds

“We think it will be a more exciting combination of prizes and a more interesting way of spreading the money […] when you win the jackpot, it will be triple what it used to be. It will take it up to another level,” Camelot CEO Andy Duncan said.

As the recent US Powerball craze illustrates – spurred on by a record $1.6 billion jackpot, Californians bought a year’s worth of Powerball tickets in only ten weeks – Duncan may be on to something. “Lots and lots of people playing a little bit more is a good model for growth,” Duncan added.

In marked contrast with the flattish performance of most lotteries in Europe and North America, the UK Lottery saw an impressive 8% growth in 2015.

Also of note is Camelot’s attention to player motivation and behavior:

“We have spent a lot of time talking to our players across all segments about the existing game and understanding the triggers and motivations to play. We have also been looking at player behaviour and how consumers respond to different jackpot levels. Working with our strategy and innovation team, the trick has been to fuse these two together to inform the design of the new Lotto game,” Nick Bonney, Camelot’s head of Insight said in a separate interview.

Dutch State Lottery Suffers Reputational Damage, Loses Revenue

The Dutch State Lottery (Staatsloterij) has, in recent years, repeatedly suffered public embarrassment.

Apart from a widely publicized court case, which resulted in the January 2015 ruling by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands that the lottery structurally misrepresented the odds of winning by having large numbers of unsold tickets participating in their drawings, additional unconfirmed reports surfaced in the fall of 2014 that the results of the State Lottery’s drawings were prone to manipulation by employees of the lottery’s technology supplier Intralot.

To add insult to injury, Dutch organization Stichting Loterijverlies, supported by last year’s Supreme Court ruling, has decided to bring a class-action lawsuit against the Dutch State Lottery, claiming €300 million in damages on behalf of its 193,000 members. Proceedings in this case will start tomorrow.

Belgian National Lottery Paid €616 million to Players in 2015

In 2015, the Belgian National Lottery realized revenues of €1,173 million (down from €1,211 million compared to the previous year) and paid €616 million back to players, creating 36 millionaires in the process.

Online sales grew 17% to €114 million.

Other News

Online lottery supplier LOTTOTECH signed a deal with operator Plus Connect to power Australia’s first online charity lottery.